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Welcome to my musings on pop culture and parenting. I am the Pop Mama and this is a safe place to steal away from your screaming child and get your fix on what's up with Beyonce and great poop stain remover tips.

Friday, July 8, 2011

The entire Jaycee Dugard saga disturbs me greatly. This poor woman was abducted at age 11 and lost out on 18 (18!!!) years of her life being held captive by her kidnappers who raped, abused and tormented her the entire time. I feel the utmost sorrow for this woman and her two children (fathered by her abuser) and I cannot imagine the relief, joy, confusion and other mix of emotions they all must have felt when they were finally rescued and let free in the outside world. Jaycee is 31 -- the age I am reluctantly turning this Sunday and I can't help but keep trying to imagine her nightmare.

Today, on http://www.people.com/ I read a short recap of Jaycee's interview with Diane Sawyer. This was the headline: "Jaycee Dugard Recalls the Pain of Giving Birth in Captivity." First off, try to ignore the fact that the headline makes her sound like a zoo animal -- the writers at People are not literary masters. Second, if you have ever given birth, you know that it is not a pretty process...and you were probably educated about what it entailed, had the chance to oh, you know, have prenatal care, and had supportive people surrounding you. This poor girl gave birth to her first daughter at around the age of 14, while locked up in a makeshift prison and attended to by her rapist and his wife. Sound like a good time? In the article she states that she didn't "realize she was in labor." How would she know? She was 14 and had been hidden from society for three years. She probably thought she was DYING.

Jaycee's book, A Stolen Life is out and I may buy it for my iPad. I am fascinated by this woman's story -- her strength, will to survive, her journey into motherhood and her re-entry into society. Her kidnapper, Phillip Garrido, was sentenced to 431 years in prison and his wife, Nancy, to 36 years (not sure why the leniency on her...). I'm not even sure that justice was served. I'm sure that Jaycee wants to move on with her life and I don't blame her, but from a citizen's standpoint -- hell, from a mother's standpoint -- I am contemplating whether the death penalty would have been more appropriate. The crime was premeditated and the torture and abuse systematic and unrelenting for 18 years. It makes me wonder how many other children are out there being hidden and abused by kidnappers while their parents mourn.

I'm just glad she is free and that her daughters don't have to live like that any longer. I wish them the best.